Designing your dream lure

Romain Grimaldi isn’t your average lure designer. He combined his lifelong experience of fishing with a huge knowledge of 3D modelling and graphics to form his own lure-making company, Dream Unit Fishing.

Ever since he was four-years-old, Romain Grimaldi has had a fascination with fishing. Now 43 and living in the south of France, he has his own lure design and manufacturing company in China, dreaming up the perfect lures for different situations.

Initially, Romain worked as a guide in both fresh and saltwater fishing before moving into tackle e-commerce and running three different lure fishing websites.

He explained: “This retailing experience reinforced my passion for lure engineering and design. So I started training in 3D modelling and improved my skills for over 10 years, in order to be able to develop my own graphics style and weight balance system concept. Then, to make my dreams come true, I set up my own company, Dream Unit Fishing Co in Shandong Province, China.

One by one I have hired highly qualified people in their field, from both China and France. This team is here to help me manage fishing lure engineering, as I see it.”

Romain and his team see things differently from others which is what, he believes, gives them an edge.

He said: “Our R&D and our idea of what a lure should be is certainly different from many. We don’t necessarily follow a geometrical approach only on the bait concept. Geometry alone, like for an architect designing a building, can restrain one’s capacity to create something unique.

“It’s a bit like what you can achieve when playing with an algorithm, in lure design, changing just one variable will transform your work and reveal many new ways relating to hydrodynamics, shape and final cosmetics.

“In reality, I feel more like a master chef using a wide array of ingredients and cooking secrets to get to a unique dish.”

But he also knows how important it is to try each idea and design out in a practical environment.

He added: “To this day, I still allow myself to spend at least two days a week on the water, to permanently try and test new concepts and come up with fresh ideas.”

 

Top of the tree

With such a large emphasis placed on the importance of detail at each stage of engineering and design of a lure, Romain and his team always feel they are on the verge of producing another best seller.

He revealed: “From my point of view, each bait can become a best seller. At the moment, it’s a soft swimbait I’m developing for specimen pike and bass fishing which I think is on its way to becoming this.”

In recent times, Dream Unit Fishing has been focusing on the French and Australian markets but is already in talks with many others and is eyeing the US sector in particular.

Romain explained: “I am interested in the US fishing market, not only because it’s the biggest in the world but also because I think that by mixing my French fishing style and design ability with US market requirements, including this tournament dimension we do not have in France, can give birth to some unique and efficient baits.”

And it is this forward thinking that has brought it many customers already while also persuading the team to launch some brands of their own.

He continued: “As an OEM manufacturer, we can offer to take on a lure project from just an idea and turn it into an award-winning lure, from 3D modelling and prototype-making to mass production and delivery. We host our own mould-making capability, which gives us an edge on project management speed.

“I have also launched my own brands, Digital Squad and GemBait, through which I express my creativity and my own vision of lure fishing, and for which we are interested in finding distributors worldwide.”

[email protected]

www.dream-unit-fishing.com

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